A Christmas Mural With a Cause

We all know that giving something back to the world is key to being happy and making a difference, so after being asked by a group of mums whether I would embark on a very ambitious adventure, I guess me being me, I simply had to accept.

Kids who suffer with Lukemia and any other illnesses have always caught my heart and having volunteered much of my time to dealing with kids or adults learning and emotional, mental development, something about Great Ormond Street charity, got me! 

Raising money for any charity if you have done, is always a big task. Fundraising as hopefully many people out there have once in their lives been involved with, requires much organization, investment of time, calling on friends, families and acquaintances for financial support and lastly doing lots of very uncomfortable sacrifices. Sometimes you make friends and other times you loose friends. Sometimes you see great strength and support in the people you never thought would have it in them, and other times you need to be strong enough to not take people's decline to help as personal. 

So when I was asked whether I would donate a mural to ensure the bar of money raised would be far higher for the efforts involved by all, I thought it a brilliant idea.

I immediately called G.O.S.H's fundraising team to discuss the realities and soon I realized I would be embarking on a very different type of mission myself, let alone the mums who organizing this! 

After much deliberation and brainstorming, we thought we should just go for it and aim big; we would set up an nationwide auction. And seeing as the wards in the hospital have now gone for the more simplistic look, doing one on their walls via a nationwide donations scheme, albeit way easier, wouldn't be relevant. But as GOSH did mention, there's nothing more exciting for people donating when they feel they are getting something for it. That's why the charity galas and events always go down a treat.

We also agreed that seeing as my magical tree is one of my more popular murals, it will be the one going up for this December bidding bonanza. Christmas is the most generous time for anyone looking for donations apparently so let's see how generous Britain's wealthy parents really are. 

The next challenge we faced was like... how actually do you auction a service?

Was I putting on a gala? Was I going to host an event? Which auction house is involved?

The first set of questions fired at me from everyone. The answer was no, as in my opinion there is no use in spending thousands on an event to raise money for something unless its a huge event with many celebrities and billionairres involved and a nice charity spread in Hello magazine.

I remember I once did a bike ride for a children's charity and no matter what I did, I only was able to raise the amount that covered my costs; the bike equipment, the flight back, the hotel. In the end no money went to the charity. The only good thing that came out of it which will hopefully help the world somehow is my husband. But that's another story for another time. 

So in fundraising I think, one always needs to think of worst case scenario. What if I only raise a grand or two and the event cost me that or even half. So a virtual auction was the way to go, I thought. 

But even the Ebay's or Gumtree's of the world werent up for hosting this as no one ever put up for auction a 'service'. Auction houses too, declined based on the fact it's not an object. 

G.O.S.H also had never experienced this because no one ever donated something that wasn't tangeable or that could be packaged and posted. 

So luck wasn't on our side and we felt caught in a miserable catch 22. 

But we all agreed this is worth fighting for, as a mural can raise anything from 5k - 100k depending on who is bidding and this charity is in great need of these funds to continue all the work they do. Statistically fundraising for charity's albeit always so appreciated by all, struggle to raise the level of funds these charities really need to keep going so that's why I felt this is very important and worth finding a way. 

Things were looking bleak, but then I was recommended by GOSH to keep on pushing and call some magazines to at least see whether they would be happy to support and publicize this. After all, anyone in PR and marketing knows, there is nothing more powerful than good PR and word of mouth to the public. 

Lo and behold I was shocked to see how many publications and online magazines without hesitation agreed to help. Be it with interviews or write ups about what I am doing. I really felt my energy come back and felt that maybe it's not about the platform but about the quality of what I am sharing itself and getting some publicity. 

 All this has really been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster and a real test of certainty in peoples humanity and knowing that if you are set on doing something good, the universe HAS to help. I am still half way through this and the test of it all will really only show in November December,which is nervwreckingly close, but also too far away. 

However, I need to always remember that one thing this country loves is people doing good things and one thing is clear, Great Ormond Street hospital has won the hearts of our nation and therefor is a charity I am only honoured to be involved with and to help. 

Stay tuned for more updates on this mission and for updates on progress!  If you have any ideas how you want to get involved and help please send me a message.
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